Homemade Burgers

They are big and bad… but oh soooo DAMN gooooooood!

At the mention of a homemade burger, people always lick their lips and their faces light up in pure delight. It’s a full blown fact that a homemade burger is leaps and bounds better than any take-out. Not only because you know what is going into your burger patti, but the quantity is always plentiful. 

It is really funny seeing how others react to my family’s ‘not-so-humble’ homemade burgers. When I hand someone a plate, they always look perplexed. The size is double the size of any human mouth and they have no idea how they are going to devour this gracefully! Unfortunately, there is no graceful way of eating this. Chuck the knives and forks aside, use your hands and press down on the burger to squish it down to one and a half mouthfuls. It’s definitely a messy job, but someone has to do it, and I know if you had the burger in front of you, you would gladly take on the challenge!

Burgers are meant to be fun, so add whatever toppings you prefer. Just make sure you have an empty stomach and are mentally prepared to conquer the quantity! You certainly will be stuffed afterwards, but it’s sooo worth it. Go on, be a devil!

Ingredients:

500g Beef mince

1 tsp Crushed garlic

1 Small onion (grated)

1-2 tsp Garlic and Herbs 

1-2 tsp mixed herbs

1 tsp steak and chop seasoning

1 – 2 tsp chopped parsley

1 Tbsp Garlic sauce (store bought)

2 Slices of white bread (crust off)

2 Tbsp Milk

Salt and pepper to taste

4 Burger rolls

Barbeque sauce (optional)

2 – 4 Lettuce leaves 

1 Tomato (sliced)

1 onion sliced

Gerkins

Bacon (fried – this ingredient is optional)

1 Tin pineapple rings (this ingredient is optional)

Cheese (grated – this ingredient is optional)

Pink sauce ingredients:

4 Tbsp of mayonnaise (heaped)

2 – 3 Tbsp Tomato sauce (preferably All Gold)

2 – 4 drops of Worchester sauce

1 -2 Drops of Tabasco sauce (the hot one)

Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions for pink sauce:

Add all the sauces together until a pink colour, and season with salt and pepper.

Instructions for burger:

1. Place bread slices in a bowl and pour milk over them. Leave to soak for a 1 minute.

2. Grate onion into the bowl that has the soaking bread.

3. Add crushed garlic, herbs and spices, salt and pepper, and garlic sauce into the same bowl.

4. Add the mince and mix well until all is evenly dispersed.

5. Leave for 5 – 10 minutes to absorb flavours. 

6. Divide into balls and make into preferred size pattis (thin or thick) and lay on a rack and pan to grill in the oven.

7. This step is optional; you can put barbeque sauce on to coat the pattis. Do one side at a time.

8. Put the oven grill on a high heat. Once the grill has heated up, place the patties under the grill for 10 – 12 minutes each side or until dark brown (and/or cooked to your preference). Try not to overcook them; you still want them to be juicy.

9. Once the pattis are cooked to your preference; butter your rolls and start constructing your burger. Start from the bottom; place the lettuce, sliced tomato, onion, gerkins, patti, pineapple rings, bacon, cheese and top with a pink sauce.

10. Squish and eat!

Tips: 

1. The pattis can be oven baked, grilled, fried and cooked over a barbeque. The decision is up to what cooking technique you prefer using.

2. The beauty about homemade burgers is if you don’t like one ingredient, you can leave it out. You are able to change the toppings and sauces. The recipe is mainly to give you my family’s version of how we make our burger patti… 

2. For full satisfaction and enjoyment; don’t be shy when you construct and eat your burger!